Senate Secretary and Impeachment Clerk of Court Renato Bantug Jr. said the visit of Office of the Vice President (OVP) Chief of Staff Atty. Zuleika Lopez to the Senate on Thursday, July 9, was “purely administrative” and did not involve discussions on the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte.

Bantug said Lopez only sought clarification on the number of seats that would be allocated for guests of the defense panel during the impeachment proceedings.

“Purely administrative, ilang daw ba ang guests na pwede lang, ilang seats na puwedeng ma-allocate ng Senate sa guests of the defense? Sabi ko, we previously communicated with the defense panel that they have 45 seats. So we just clarified the procedure,” Bantug told the reporters.

He emphasized that the discussion was unrelated to his role as clerk of court and was instead a matter involving his duties as Senate secretary.

“Nothing to do with my clerk of court duties. It was me meeting them more as a secretary of the Senate to the chief of staff of the Office of the Vice President rather than an impeachment court matter. Nothing about the case was discussed,” he said.

“Rather than the impeachment court matter, it was purely housekeeping, administrative,” he added.

“Even if I met her as Clerk of Court, wala rin naman ako makukuha sa kanya, nothing that could affect the merits of the case, nothing that could affect the conduct of the impeachment trial proceedings,” Bantug said.

The meeting came after the prosecution earlier sought to summon Lopez as a witness in the impeachment trial. Prosecutors said Lopez was present during an online conference where Duterte made remarks that included alleged threats against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.. First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.